G3 1448LW DeckHelp

[tsrtinboats]

I'm putting a front deck onmy 1448lw and need some advice.

When building the deck should I make it perfectly flat or stick keep with the incline of the bow. From other builds I've seen here it looks like it's a 50/50 split on how others have built theirs. It seems sticking with the natural incline makes the build much easier but I'd like to hear from someone who, if they had the chance, would do it differently the next time and why?

Thanks

 

[bobberboy]

It seems to me that there really isn't a right answer to your question. The "level"of your boat and therefore the level of the deck will depend on the distribution of weight in the boat and will change as the weight changes. When I did my deck I kept a constant distance down from the gunwales to the top of the deck. Somehow that seemed logical to me and suited my design sense. Seems like you can do what you like best or what works best with the conditions of the boat. I think one reason why some people don't level with the gunwales is they use the seats as support for the deck structure and the seats aren't necessarily the same distance down from the gunwales. I guess whatever works is the right answer.

 

[Waterwings]

I always figured that the majority of the front decks I've seen sloped aft a bit, so that when a person was on the front deck the weight would naturally make the bow lower in the water and the deck would then be somewhat level. Just a thought

 

[BossHogg]

I'm really glad someone brought this up. I was just scratching my head about this last night. At least I think it's the same thing. Here's a quick sketch of what I've got.

As a result, I cannot make my bow deck rest on the pre-existing deck section and extend back as far as I would have liked. But, for ease of construction purposes, I plan to utilize both the bench top and bow deck as a foundation for support. I just hope that once I get it all done and get it in the water, it doesn't sit sloping too bad one way or another. I'm figuring this on the notion that the hull designer made the planes of the bench tops and bow deck paralell with the water in a "naked" boat. If this holds true, and I do a good job at distributing the weight, I figure I should end up fairly level. o,0 lmao.. I know, that's an awful lot of "if's, should's, and maybe's"